It seems to often we are solving a puzzle without a picture.  When I was a kid, my grandmother Retha used to always give me Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, and all sorts of other books and puzzles for Christmas. I appreciated the gifts, but I never knew the value of them. I'd rather have the newest toy or the latest fashion.  But I was a kid. Now I'm an adult continuously reading books and trying to solve a puzzle – oftentimes without a picture.  In addressing issues with our mayor, with youth violence or any of our concerns, I think people from all different walks of life are the puzzle pieces. Some of us are rough around the edges, and some of us are smooth. Opinions, insight an

Editor's note: This article is a response to a recent Sacramento Press story about City Manager Ray Kerridge being an "Invisible Man." It has been said our city manager is not held accountable to the residents of Sacramento. But I disagree. Not only is Sacramento's city manager accountable to the City Council and the mayor of Sacramento, he is also accountable to the public and oftentimes reaches out to them with genuine concern. Prior to meeting Sacramento City Manager Ray Kerridge, I used to think power was in the hands of others. I used to think my opponents were others, and they were often my enemies. President Franklin Roosevelt once said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear its

How do you know if community contributors on our site are using their real names? How do you distinguish staff reporters from community contributors? How do you know who has been featured on our front page? This weekend, The Sacramento Press launched badges to address all those concerns and more. Badges come in two varieties: merit and identity. Identity badges identify our users, what they do and their role on our site. The staff of The Sacramento Press assigns all identity badges manually. Assigning badges will start slowly and take time. We have eight identity badges: Editorial Staff, Sacpress Staff, Editorial Interns, County Government, City Government, Law Enforcement, Fire Departme

SWIM, SNORKEL OR SCUBA !!!   As most of you know the small Island of Haiti suffered and continues to suffer from a massive earthquake.  As a result of this The Northern California Swimstitute and SACSCUBA have partnered together to offer a unique fundraiser - DISCOVER SCUBA DIVING.   For every person who signs up to DISCOVER SCUBA DIVING - cost $70 per person - SACSCUBA & The Swimstitute will donate $40 to the American Red Cross to help the victims of the Haiti quake.  Very simple.  The date of the dive is:   FEBRUARY 6, 2010     Please call:  530-346-3483 Bring a friend and let's help out!

Solar Cookers International (SCI), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1987, announced the launch of the Haiti Project, which aims to send one complete solar cooking kit to at least 200 Haitian families that were devastated by the recent earthquake. The initial fundraising goal for this project is $8,000. Even before the disaster, SCI ranked Haiti as one of the top twenty countries in the world where solar cooking is poised to be very successful and tremendously beneficial. The recent earthquake, in combination with the country’s already scarce fuel and power resources, spells an immediate need for solar cooking training and supplies. Forty dollars is enough to provide one family wit

  According to Jewish tradition, the highest form of tzedakah, or charity, is to donate to a community fund, or kupah. Whether your donation is in the form of community service hours, survival materials or a monetary donation, it all helps to strengthen and build our community at large.   The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, and their overseas beneficiaries, work with a broad set of national and international institutes that span the world to provide relief, rescue, and reconstruction. The federation system is dedicated to inspiring community members to secure the financial and human resources necessary to achieve the mission of caring for those in need, without discrimination

As part of a nationwide effort, two local women are putting together a vegan bake sale with proceeds benefiting the American Red Cross relief effort in Haiti. Toni Okamoto and Amy Galvan are going to be selling vegan baked goods at R5 Records(2500 16th Street, Sacramento, CA 95818.) this Saturday the 16th from 10:00 AM to 3:00PM and encourage everyone to participate. Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of several vegan cookbooks, is helping organize the effort and has a website devoted to a listing of vegan bake sales nationwide. Come out, support Haiti and enjoy a delicious vegan snack or two this Saturday! http://theppk.com/blog/2010/01/13/vegan-bake-sales-for-haiti/   Sacramento Vegan Ba

On January 1st a new law will take effect that will require all semi-automatic handguns to have the capability to imprint identification on each expended cartridge case when it is fired. The legislature passed AB 1471 Feurer in 2007 that mandated this technology on all new pistols starting in 2010. The main drawback to this law is there are no firearms manufactured with this capability. The patent holder has not relaxed the restrictions to implement his invention. It has been theorized that this will ocurr in the near future. During arguments for the bill some legislators postured as if they were experts in firearms design and manufacturing processes and proferred cost estimates for the i

     By now most of us are getting a little tired of hearing about Christmas, but this is one short story that we all want, and need, to hear about. On December 22 my six year old son and I went to the Saca center on Del Paso Blvd. This day is one of the most memorable days of the year as we were able to witness a true Christmas miracle that most people only see in the classic Christmas movies. What we saw was the Saca center giving an awesome Christmas to over 274 families in the surrounding neighborhood of Del Paso Heights. Most of these families came from the local neighborhood of the Saca center, probably clients of their Community center and Mother Baby program. It is especially nice

     Most of us have heard about the Salvation Army’s toy drive for local needy families. Through the media we see a family that is very happy to receive several presents given to children that otherwise would go without. All of this generous charity work begins with expensive marketing, fundraising events, donations, and of course volunteers. The most important part of this charity process is the families with children in need.      When a family signs up for Christmas assistance from the Salvation Army they must provide certain documents, such as a proof of income, proof of residency, ID, etc. When a family signs up they must go to the Salvation Army sign-up location. The location for t